Four miles apart, but siblings reunite after 60 years

London, Oct 6 (IANS) A brother and sister who got separated some 60 years ago have reunited to discover that they had been living just four miles apart all these years in west-central Britain, the Daily Telegraph reported Monday.George Culwick, 87, had separated from his sister Lucy Heenan, now 88, when he began travelling across the country with his engineering firm in his early 20s, according to the newspaper.

But the great-grandfather bumped into his sister’s daughter-in-law at a family ancestry meeting three months ago and discovered through another relative that Heenan had been living in Langley, Birmingham - a few minutes away from Quinton where he lived for decades.

“I thought Lucy was dead because I hadn’t seen or heard of her for so long, so this has all come as a real shock,” said George.

“Meeting her again after all these years was very emotional, we didn’t do much talking to start with. It is a bit sad that we’ve missed out on 60 years together, but we’re having to make up for lost time now,” he said.

“I’d had no way of getting in touch with Lucy before this because I didn’t know where she was. It is strange that we were living so close to each other and yet we had no idea.”

“Since we were reunited, we have met each other’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My family like having a new auntie, especially as she makes such a fuss of them,” said Culwick who moved into a care home two years ago.